We recently changed our plans, so we will visit Bologna instead of Norcia (in Umbria). Norcia is another small town, and we may need to drive a bit each day. We are ready for a city (and for fast internet), so we decided the city was best.

We wake up and begin the grind of packing and loading the car. I’ve been reorganizing everything since I cleaned the car, so it’s a bit more work to get it all back in the car. Still, I think the result is nice. The family comes to see us off. They hug and kiss us like family. I love them.

The drive to Bologna (less than 2 hours) is smooth, straight and scenic. It beats all the drives of the last two weeks. We find the parking garage near our Airbnb easily and walk over with a ridiculous amount is gear (the usual). It’s only a few blocks before we reach a large door, with a tiny door cut out of it. The host opens the tiny door for us, and we climb in one by one.

This Airbnb is very small, but it makes great use of the space. There’s a loft where the kids’ bed and a small office are. There aren’t many windows because it’s on the first floor, so we try to figure out how to turn on the a/c (happy to have that at all!).

It’s after 1pm, and Stefan finds the perfect spot for lunch We walk for about twenty minutes through the city. It’s a great introduction. The city is one portico after another! It’s beautiful and very practical on these sunny days. The kids enjoy how smoothly their scooters glide and that there aren’t many cross streets requiring them to stop.

I love Sfoglia Rina immediately. The front room is a pasta shop with handmade tortellinis and lasagnas. We get in the line for the restaurant in the back, hoping this doesn’t mean we’ll be waiting for an hour. The staff are welcoming and let us know it’ll be 10 minutes to sit. Perfect!

When we round the corner into the dining room, I see the corner nook they’ve created for kids. It’s a low table and chairs with lots of markers. And I brought coloring books! Our seats at the communal table are next to the kids’ nook. It’s perfect. For about 15 minutes, it almost feels like Stefan and I are on a date! That doesn’t last very long. Oly is cranky, probably because he’s hungry, and the communal table is watching us carefully.

Then the food comes. A beautiful meat and cheese plate, tortellini in brodo (tiny pastas in chicken broth) and green penne pasta with a vegetable curry sauce. Now this is what we came to bologna for! The gnocchi I ordered Oly is pretty tasteless, so it sits almost untouched. The penne with curry is by far the best. It’s off the weekly menu, but I recommend getting it if it’s available.

The kids have a lot of fun playing the music on the large pasta shells at our place settings. Then Stefan buys them each a cookies Oly is super happy it’s shaped like an “O” for Oly. As we leave, the fire department arrives to assist a guy stuck in the bathroom. That provides a moment of entertainment!

We walk home the long way to see more of the city. We love the porticoes, and there are so many interesting finds along the way. We see two towers next to one another, both leaning different ways! Stefan runs in to see if it says how many steps to the top (it’s a lot), but the overwhelming smell of sweat and body odor send him back quickly. We will not be climbing the tower.

We stop at the grocery store on the way home, mainly for fruit.

We go back home to relax. We should probably go explore the city more, but it’s pretty warm and we want enjoy our internet access for awhile. Yes, I realize that’s a bit lame. Oh well.

We binge on internet for hours. The kids get to watch PJ Masks and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse while Stefan and I work on our own projects. I need to finish planning the Croatian portion of our trip, beginning next week. As I’m reviewing our current plans, I realize I made a mistake in booking the most amazing Airbnb in Istria, and it wasn’t confirmed. Crap. Now I am scrambling to find a good solution for our travels next week. I don’t come to any conclusions unfortunately, so I’ll have to work more on that tomorrow. I think we’ll end up going to two different destinations in the week I’d planned for Istria.

We bought a prepared lasagna at the lunch spot to make for dinner. We’re going to try our plan of eating out only once a day again. I can’t find the oven. There is no oven. Ugh. So we are going out to dinner.

It’s nice to get out of the house again. We are well-situated in the center of the city, so walking around is fun. There are definitely tourists here, but there are no crowds. It’s calm.

Stefan finds an awesome place for dinner only a few minutes’ walk from here. Osteria dell’Orsa is fantastic. It has the feel of a college spot, with tables squished compactly and a simple cheat menu. I love it. The staff are constantly scrambling, but we always feel taken care of. Oly gets the ragu, which is bolognese sauce around the world. I’ve been so excited to try it here that perhaps I’ve built it up too much in my head. It’s just average. Lillian’s tortellini is incredible, though. We order another one because it’s by far the one we should be eating. Oly is difficult throughout the meal; he says “mamma” at least two hundred times. I think I’m going crazy. Is he messing with me?!